Market in Korogwe, selling Solanum villosum (green vegetable) and Solanum aethiopicum (yellow and red fruits)
Bomandini is the classic tropical beach paradise. We drove down a dirt track to look for Solanum usaramense, collected there 50 years ago. Soil here is different, with pieces of coral with red sand and clay, and the forest looks greener, which may be a good sign. I showed a photograph of a similar plant to local boys, and they recognised it! Solanum usaramense was a tangled mass of dry spiny branches, with tiny new shoot growths, and no fruits or flowers. I would have never found it myself. Catelephoni Joni says the flowers appear after the rain, but goats love this plant and they eat flowers and fruits straight away so there is nothing left.
After collecting Solanum usaramense we rested and looked around the beautiful beach. Looking forward to tomorrow, West Usambara Mountains!
Catelephoni Joni holding Solanum usaramense – goats love it so no flowers or fruits are left.
